Stephen Amell Offers 'Arrow' Season 4 Story & Villain Hints

Arrowrecently wrapped season 3 with a finale story that saw Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) take down Ra's al Ghul, once again save Starling City. In the aftermath of the battle, Malcolm Merlin became the new Ra's, Thea adopted a new superhero identity (Speedy), and Oliver finally hung up his hood, opting instead to drive off into the sunset with Felicity Smoak.

...But how long can the titular hero of the show stay gone? Arrow star Stephen Amell recently addressed that issue that looms over season 4, while doing press lines on the red carpet.

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Here's the transcript of what Amell says in the video:

On Whether the Oliver/Felicity romance will continue:

I think that's the plan. As we know on our show, nothing bad ever happens when people are super happy [smiles coyly].

On when the season 3 finale was planned - and when Stephen Amell knew about Olly hanging up the hood.

I knew that was how it was going to end last year at this time. They had a real plan this year. I didn't know I was going to die in the middle of the season, but I knew that [Oliver and Felicity] was the plan. I think it's a real cool opportunity for our show to transition toward something else. No pun intended.

Regarding Plans for season 4:

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I don't know, I have no sense. I had a real good sense outta [season] 1 into 2, and outta 2 into 3; I know nothing about season 4.

I know a little bit about the flashbacks; actually, I know the whole flashback story. But in terms of present day, I don't know. Roy sacrificed himself (he outed himself as the Arrow), so if I were to recreate the suit and go out, it would undo all of the sacrifice that he made. So the Arrow persona - for better or for worse - it can't exist anymore.

Fans have of course been waiting for this show and its hero, The Arrow, to make the full transition into a more traditional version of DC Comics' Green Arrow. With Arrow now having effectively killed the first superhero identity Oliver Queen developed, could Green Arrow (complete with new costume) be in the works as a way to move Oliver away from suspicion? Said Amell:

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I mean would that do it? We'll see [Smiling].

A New Big Bad:

One part of season 3 that mainstream fans may not have picked up on was the revelation of Damian Darhk. In a brief S3 finale sequence, Oliver and team Arrow tried to use Ra's al Ghul's nemesis, Darhk, against him. Damian was never seen in person but it seems that character is poised for a bigger role in season 4 - which Stephen Amell confirms - along with some other familiar DC Comics Easter eggs:

Safe to say we'll hear that name again. H.I.V.E. Damian Dark. Coast City - all that good stuff.

In the comics, Damien Darhk is an associate of the mercenary organization known as H.I.V.E. He was a young criminal, but seemed advanced beyond in his years in both tech and capability, with more mystery than fact about his background. He battled the Teen Titans, but was eventually killed. Also in the comics, Coast City is home to Green Lantern, whose mythos has been steadily leaking into Arrow(see: Ferris Air).

In the Arrow TV continuity, Darhk was revealed by Ra's al Ghul as being his former protege, who tried to take the mantle of Ra's for himself, but was found unworthy. Damian escaped death and took some League of Assassin followers to form H.I.V.E.; we learned that he has been the unseen hand behind several of Team Arrow's more episodic missions (the Suicide Squad nerve gas mission in season 2; the season 2 agent who tried to buy a new earthquake machine; and A.R.G.U.S. agent Mark Shaw's betrayal in season 3).

Needless to say, if Damian Darhk is able to stay one step ahead of even Ra's, and has been pulling strings from the shadows this long, then Team Arrow is probably NOT suitably equipped to deal with such a threat without Oliver's help. Cue Mr. Queen's eventual return...

Arrow season 4 will premiere this fall along with The Flashseason 2 and season 1 of CBS' Supergirl. The Flash/Arrow spinoff show Legends of Tomorrowwill premiere as a midseason replacement in early 2016.